


Cyclorama

by violetsaren_tblue



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, But he's getting better, Eugene's kind of a jerk in this, Everyone Needs A Hug, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Here's him being amazing, Hurt/Comfort, Lance Angst, Lance Strongbow Appreciation Week, Lance being a king, Lance is the best, Lance needs more appreciation, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Varian angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-18 15:53:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28994775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetsaren_tblue/pseuds/violetsaren_tblue
Summary: Lance Strongbow appreciation week and I thought I would gift this to AMax76 with her fic of Blood of my Brother. This takes place in between events of Chapter 19.If Lance knew one thing, it was that things aren't always as they seem when it came to people. It's a shame that he's the only one with that mindset as Hector and Varian join them on their journey to the Dark Kingdom. As Varian falls ill, he is given a look at the bigger picture when presented with the opportunity to help. And by the sun was he going to help.
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Lance Strongbow, Hector & Lance Strongbow (Disney: Tangled), Hector & Varian (Disney: Tangled), Lance Strongbow & Other(s), Lance Strongbow & Varian
Comments: 12
Kudos: 77





	Cyclorama

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AMax76](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AMax76/gifts).



> So I'm completely in love with Blood of my Brother and this fic constantly makes me go <3 Lance! <3\. So I daydreamed this concept and spent 6 hours trying to write it. Hope you guys enjoy it!

Lance Strongbow never thought he’d be in this kind of position. Traveling to a fallen kingdom with the missing princess of Corona, the best friend that left him to get arrested, Hookhand’s brother, and a group of other people that were more than capable of killing him. Two of them have threatened his life already, and one almost seriously injured him whether they wanted to or not. Needless to say, it was a very strange set of circumstances that led them to this awkwardly hostile situation. 

All of this for the plague rock that caused too much trouble in Corona. 

But long trips with people who previously hated him were a specialty of his; because Lance makes an effort to understand before passing judgment. He’s already kind of, sort of gotten on Cassandra’s good side, at least to a point where she’s not actively threatening him. Hector was a bit of a different story, bitter and vicious towards the borderline strangers who hurt someone he cared about. Lance was working on it. The ex-thief has certainly gotten further with him than anyone else in their party aside from Adira and Varian. 

Then there’s Varian. 

Lance didn’t know what he expected when he was told who they were fighting in the Battle of Corona but seeing the small child,  _ oh god so tiny,  _ pulled from the metal monstrosity, kicking and screaming with tears flowing down his face, crying for his dad, he knew that there was more to the story than what Eugene and Rapunzel told him. Seeing him at the Great Tree was a surprise, to say the least; even more so to see the pure terror twist the scarred, young face-did he always have so many scars on his face? Lance didn’t like how the rest of his group treated him (he expected better from Eugene but even he refused to see the warning signs or understand where the kid was coming from). Lance was almost grateful to see someone on Varian’s side when Hector came to get his nephew, even if he had to endure more death threats, a possessed Cass, and a building collapse in order for the kid to have someone trying to protect him too. 

Now they were making steady tracks to the Dark Kingdom with three more people to feed. Adira has decided to actually travel with them now, something probably to do with protecting Varian as well. Something about the past few days where dark eyes glared daggers at them clued Lance in that Adira has been told the whole story and was not happy with their group as a result. The Brotherhood members and Varian had their own nook of the caravan but Lance felt a special kind of pride at being the only one regularly allowed to come and spend time in their space. Probably because he was the only one who treated Varian like a person and not just a criminal. 

After seeing Varian’s scars and hearing the hateful words people, Lance once dared called kind and sympathetic, slung the kid’s way, the man refused to talk to Eugene for a few days. But of course, Eugene took it in stride and came back in his own petty way; not doing his chores for his side of the caravan. 

The antagonistic behavior between the groups didn’t fade even as Varian fell ill due to infection. They were only a few days out from the Great Tree when Varian fell off Hector’s rhino (Kuwa? Kuba? Something along those lines) feverish and trembling. The group was still a few days away from any kind of town, meaning medical treatment and supplies were limited, especially after Rapunzel over-treated Cassandra’s broken arm. 

It made Lance a little nervous, just because of how small Varian was. Sickness was never good for smaller kids, Lance thinks darkly while recalling his days in the run-down orphanage. 

They were currently in their part of the caravan. Adira appeared to be meditating on her bed while Hector held a sweaty, sleeping Varian in his arms, combing his fingers through thick, black hair. Lance was sitting on the floor, playing with his string as he mulled over his thoughts. While he didn’t have a lot of experience in medical training, he still tried to come up with ways to help ease Varian’s aches and help him get better sooner. 

For a while they sat in relative peace before a thudding knock came from the other side of the door Lance was propped up against. 

“Hey weirdos, we have a situation out here. Don’t have enough food for all of us so we need to hunt some big game. If you want food, you’ll have to catch it yourselves.” Cassandra’s harsh voice pierced through the wood. Lance didn’t understand. Whenever they ran out of food too far outside of a town, she and Eugene were plenty willing to get enough meat for all of...oh. This was a thing done out of mean-spiritedness. Lance wished he could say that he was surprised but he wasn’t. 

He watched Hector groan, rolling his eyes. The warrior looked to Adira, who struggled to maintain her meditative posture before letting out a weighty sigh. Hector attempted to move his nephew out of his arms but when Varian let out a small cry and clasped the man’s fur cloak tighter, he stopped trying to get up. He looked conflicted; he can’t disturb Adira during her mental-training and he didn’t want to move and leave his nephew to suffer without his warmth, but he also can’t let them go without this meal as Varian was weak enough and needed the nutrients if he was to get better. 

Seeing this, Lance offered his services. 

“If you want, I can look after him while you get your food? Help him while you’re busy?” The ex-thief stood from his seat and walked over to the bed while Hector stared at him, examining him for any trace of mal-intent. Practically neon-green eyes narrowed at him, making Lance feel like he was being looked over by a disapproving school teacher. But Hector seemed to have come to the same conclusion as Lance did. The warrior sighed again, hesitance painting his every feature. 

“If you hurt him-”

“I’m dead. I know. I’m not going to though, and even if I tried I think the lovely Adira would take my head from my shoulders without a second thought.” Lance cut in, not being able to help the smile inching onto his face. Hector’s threats have gotten so frequent that they’ve lost a bit of their bite; just towards Lance though, the man still hissed and spat obscenities at Cassandra and Rapunzel. 

That seemed to be enough for Hector and he maneuvered himself so that Lance could get on the bed, and be ready to take Varian from his arms. Hector pushed himself up slightly and slid out from under the teenager, allowing Lance to take his place. Varian was uncomfortably warm against his chest, his burning forehead curled against his neck. Lance gathered the kid in his arms and adjusted him so his head would be resting against his chest and that Lance wouldn’t be a victim of first-degree burns. Hector watched the two of them with a strange look in his eyes before glancing towards Adira. 

“Watch them.” He mumbled to her, only beginning to move to the door after seeing her nod slightly from her own bed. It was very clear that Hector wasn’t happy about this but was doing it because he at least found Lance semi-trustworthy. And it would be no surprise that Lance would gloat to the high heavens about that to the rest of the group once Hector got the food they needed. 

The door shut with a click and Lance settled slightly. Despite the weird kind of amiable atmosphere Lance had with the Brotherhood, Hector still unnerved him. Probably because the warrior was able to fight all five of them, discounting Shorty, with relative ease despite having a concussion and bad leg. Just like Adira, he was amazing in his own right; enough to make Lance admire and respect him. But the downright murderous look he gave Cassandra after seeing the bruise she left on Varian’s face still sent shivers down his spine. 

A soft moan interrupted his thoughts. The man looked down at the trembling teen on top of him, seeing his discomfort and pained expression. Lance pulled the blanket around him a bit tighter, letting the weight of the cotton calm Varian’s feverish mumbling. Seeing if it would help, Lance began to card his fingers through soft strands, slightly damp from sweat. The sensation eased the tension that strung the teen and Lance smiled gently. 

All he ever wanted to do was help and he was glad that he could do at least this. Lance can’t stop Eugene and Rapunzel from treating him like a Boogeyman nor can he ward off Cassandra’s insisting viciously that Lance shouldn’t treat a monster with kindness. But he can hold him when his uncle can’t and comfort him in his time of need; because he saw the Alchemist, the big scary criminal who’d hurt anyone who got in his way, for what he really was. Varian was a scared kid without an adult in the world to help him as he spiraled further and further into anger and grief, just trying to save his only family. Perhaps the truth was a mixture of both, but Lance was never one to deny someone a chance to tell their side of the story. 

Maybe one day he’ll get it out of the kid when he can form full sentences again but for now, Lance is content in being the one to hold him while he was sick. 

Feeling the need to shift his pinned arm, the ex-thief readjusted, bringing his arm up to rest over Varian’s back. His large hand flopped onto Varian’s left arm, feeling the warmth radiating from his skin through his clothes. The teen flinched at the contact, drawing in a sharp breath and whimpering quietly. 

Lance got the feeling that he may have messed up. 

Varian started thrashing in his arms as if trying to escape the way they encompass him despite them being a source of safety and comfort meer seconds ago. His breathing accelerated as more indescribable mumbles escaped him. Lance being caught by surprise tried to remember was Hector did when Varian started freaking out on him. 

Hector would give the kid his space and talk to him calmly. But was that really the best course of action if Varian needed his warmth and could potentially hurt himself with the way he thrashed about and dug his teeth into his bottom lip? Out of everyone though, Hector spent the most time with Varian so he would probably know best. And Lance was right there just in case the kid did hurt himself accidentally. 

Lance pushed himself up, picking up Varian and moving him to lay upright atop the pillows. Varian did not waste any time in curling into his little ball and wrapping his arms around his head; like he was protecting himself from oncoming blows, Lance noted with dark anger bubbling in his gut. 

“Please. I-I don’t know anything. Please.” The child whispered, sounding much more helpless than Lance ever recalled him sounding. Varian always had walls, in his voice, in his posture, in his heart. So hearing these cries without any kind of restraint or hesitation in his tone made Lance uncomfortable. “My friends. They’ll come for me. My friends will help me. R-rapunzel promised so she’ll come. They’ll come.” It became glaringly obvious that this was something that he wasn’t supposed to hear. 

When the man heard the familiar sound of muffled hiccups, he knew what he had to do. Monster or no, Lance wasn’t going to let these heart-breaking cries continue any longer. 

_ “Upon one Summer’s Morning, I carefully did stray _ ” 

His smooth baritone resonated around the room, while his fear of public singing gave a little shake to his voice it disappeared within the first few lines.

“ _ Down by the Walls of Wapping, where I met a sailor gay _

_ Conversing with a young lass, who’d seem to be in pain.  _

_ Saying, William, when you go, I fear you’ll ne’er return again.  _

_ My heart is pierced by Cupid. I disdain all glittering gold.  _

_ There is nothing can console me, my jolly sailor bold.”  _

By the end of Lance’s shanty, Varian’s nightmares had been chased away, leaving a peace that hadn’t previously existed in the caravan. A sense of pride washed over the man; he’d calmed down Eugene when he got manic during heists but this was different. Lance was proud that he was able to help more than he thought he could and that fact swelled his heart. 

Varian started shivering from the cold again and Lance without uncertainty, tucked himself next to the teenager’s side, looping his arm around him and making sure his hands did not come within contact of him. Lance thought he’d die of cuteness when Varian in turn, buried himself into the crook of Lance’s arm and chest, subconsciously seeking his warmth. To ward off any further nightmares, the man began to hum, the sound vibrating in his ribcage. 

Once Varian was breathing deeply again, although struggling with his congestion to do so, Lance looked around the room. He was beginning to get sleepy as well and he’d probably get stabbed if he fell asleep and Varian had a nightmare again without him to help. In him trying to find a distraction, he sees Adira looking at him with one open eye. 

A gentle, approving smile adorned her sharp features and Lance’s heart swelled even more. The warrior woman closes her eyes again, a smile still on her face as she breaks her silence temporarily. 

“You have a very beautiful voice.” That is all she says before she goes back into her mental exercise. Lance’s smile is so big it hurts his face, but it stays like that for the next few minutes. Maybe he should sing more often if Adira liked it.

Several minutes are passed in silence, with only the sound of Lance’s humming permeating the air. The opening and closing of the caravan door bring the moment to a close. Hector stumbles into the room with an angry gait, trying to rein in his temper. Something must’ve happened with Lance’s group, they either said or did something stupid because Hector looks likes he’s struggling to not explode. 

“You get all the food you need?” Lance asks quietly, as to not disturb Varian from his restful doze. Hector’s glare lands on him, softening ever so slightly before retaining its sharpness. 

“Move.” He commands. Lance does not fight him as he shifts and lets the Brotherhood knight take his place. Watching the anger bleed out from Hector when Varian was in his arms was like watching a balloon deflate, reminding Lance that the man wasn’t angry at  _ him _ . Lance begins to leave to help cook dinner when Hector’s raspy voice calls to him. 

“Thanks,” is all he says. It’s all he needs to say. Lance gives him a blinding grin. 

“Of course! I’ll bring you guys your food.” With that, he leaves with a new spring in his step and a new recipe he wanted to see if the warriors would like. 

\-------------

He’s setting up the campfire and the cooking tools when Eugene approaches him. There’s a resigned expression on his friend’s face when he sits on a log next to where Lance is kindling the fire. A few moments pass before Eugene clears his throat. 

“You’ve been spending a lot of time with the Brotherhood weirdos.” He starts as if it were the most normal opening to a conversation. The pleasantry in his tone is soured slightly by annoyance “Any reason why?” 

“I want to get to know them a bit more before we arrive at the Dark Kingdom. They’re pretty cool and have a lot of stories to tell.” Lance answers, flipping a log over to control the heat a bit more. Cooking food over a campfire is always fickle but it’s better if you have control over how hot the flame burns. Eugene scoffs and Lance tightens his grip on the stick he was using. 

“Right, two out of three of those people have tried to kill us. They’re real cool.” Suddenly Lance can’t contain his displeasure with his friend anymore. He throws the stick to the ground and whips around to face Eugene at full height. 

“You know, you, Rapunzel, and Cassandra have been saying that a lot but I can’t really see it. The most injured person that came out of the Battle of Old Corona was the Captain and that wasn’t even Varian, it was his mutated raccoon who only attacked the guards. I wonder why that is?” He doesn’t even try to keep the bitterness of not knowing the full story from his voice. Letting anger take control of his words as he continued. “ Even Cassandra and the Queen were relatively unharmed-enough for Cassandra to hop onto this caravan without getting checked out by the doctors first. As for Hector, he was just trying to do his freaking job while also protecting his nephew from the people who allowed him to get locked up and abused.” 

“We don’t even know if-” 

“Oh, come off it Eugene! You’ve spent less than a day in a cell. I’ve spent  _ five years.  _ I know what it’s like to be told that you aren’t worth anything that your prisoner number. The difference between you and me is that I’ve seen what an ‘honorable guard’ can do when they think no one cares about you. Get off your high horse and think for two seconds.” 

Lance is left heaving, out of breath from his rant. Eugene stares at him for a long time with many emotions flashing through his brown eyes. First is defensive anger, then it’s a dismissive annoyance, then it transforms into something more thoughtful. His brows draw together and his frown tightens. 

“You...You got hurt by guards when you were in prison?” Eugene’s voice is quiet. He doesn’t even stand to challenge Lance when the man looks to the sky and releases a long-suffering sigh. Of course, Eugene would only care if it happened to people he cared about; but not Varian, never Varian. But if it will knock some sense into him, Lance complies. 

He rolls up the sleeve on his right arm, all the way to his bicep where perfectly straight, thick white lines decorate his arm. Lance remembers the questions that were spat at him as the guards dug knives across his skin when he refused to answer. 

_ Where is Flynn Rider? You can’t not know! Tell us where he is we might go easier on you. _

Eugene inhales sharply, disturbed by the lines that were almost identical to the ones Varian had on his left arm. Lance watches his friend bury his face in his hands as if that could erase the scars from his mind. Eugene takes several shaky breaths before dragging his hands down his face and resting them below his chin, propping his elbows up for support. 

“W-why...Why didn’t you tell me?” The break in his voice pulls something at Lance’s heart. Lance, not having the energy to stand any more, sits on the opposite side of Eugene’s log. He leans back, turning his head toward the sky. 

“Didn’t think you’d care particularly,” Lance says in an equally low voice, recalling how much Eugene insisted that he didn’t want Lance in his life when he first saw him again. Eugene makes an offended noise next to him. 

“What makes you think I wouldn’t care?! Lance, you...you’re my friend.” The exasperation in the words makes Lance want to laugh. He recalled the words Varian cried during his nightmares. 

“You didn’t care too much about Varian’s. And he thought you guys were his friends.” The dark-skinned man attempts to not sound as resentful as he feels. Eugene shuts his gaping mouth with a click, falling silent once more. Of course, he knew that the situation was more complicated than either of them initially thought but it was a matter of being willing to admit error and look for answers that defined them. Lance can’t contain the question burning on the tip of his tongue. 

“He was having nightmares. Pleading to someone that he doesn’t know anything before insisting that you guys would come for him. That you guys would come and help him.” Lance prefaces somberly. He turns to Eugene, looking him right in the eyes. “While I don’t quite know what that means...Why didn’t you?” 

Regret taints the light in Eugene’s eyes before he looks away, wringing his hands in his lap. Upon witnessing his discomfort, the ex-thief doesn’t know whether he should be sad that made Eugene feel this way, or glad that he was getting an explanation and maybe getting through Eugene’s thick skull. 

“He’s...Varian’s probably talking about the time he spent being hounded by the guards after the blizzard. He sent us a note that asked us for help but he wasn’t in the house so...we just forgot about him I guess.” As Eugene explains, Lance feels the anger simmering in his gut rise to a boil, burning the back of his throat with a hateful stinging. “I guess it never came to my mind that he needed help when Rapunzel was right in front of me, distressed about finding Quirin’s body.” 

“You didn’t think that Quirin’s son, the actual child who was chased out of his own house, might need your help more than Rapunzel, who barely knew the guy and had a cozy castle to go back to?” Lance comments, hoping to finally get it through to his friend that it’s not just Rapunzel’s feelings that matter. Eugene goes on the defensive again. 

“Look I’ll admit that I messed up but-” 

“Rapunzel won’t. She still thinks that you guys didn’t do anything wrong.” This was Eugene’s turn to listen, and by god was he going to listen. He can get his licks in later, but this was Lance’s time to talk. “Why won’t you approach her and talk to her about it, let her know that taking responsibility for what  _ she  _ did is part of being an adult, not to mention someone who’s going to be Queen one day.” 

The brunette looks subdued as if he wasn’t sure about telling Rapunzel that her self-righteous behavior was wrong. The hypocrisy makes itself very clear in Lance’s mind. 

“Eugene, you know better than anyone else that just because you love someone, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t call them out when they do something wrong.” 

With that, Lance stands up and goes back to making dinner, leaving Eugene to think about his words. All of his history with the man that he’d trust his life with, Lance can only hope that it’s preserved and Eugene gets his act together. Because Lance refuses to be friends with an abuse apologist. Even if he had loved Eugene enough as a friend to endure interrogation torture to keep him safe. 

An hour passes with Eugene stewing in thought and Lance pushing meat and vegetables around on a flat sheet of metal before words are spoken. 

“I’m sorry.” Is all Eugene says. 

It’s a start, Lance thinks. 

**Author's Note:**

> Oof. That was...rough. Sorry for the drama but Lance WOULD be mad at people being stupid. Let him be mad. The song that Lance sings is Jolly Sailor Bold, and there's a male cover by Ashe that reminds me of James Monroe Inglehart's voice. Enjoy that and check out the newest chapters of Blood of my Brothers. Help one of my favorite authors by giving them some appreciation!


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